WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 2, “The Star-Spangled Man,” now streaming on Disney+.
Falcon and Winter Soldier had a massive battle against a group of people that clearly had superhuman powers in the season’s second episode, “The Star-Spangled Man.” After the fight, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) seemed lost, but Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) said there was someone they should talk to.
This meeting was with Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), another man who had received the super-soldier serum. When Bucky and Sam showed up to see him, they had to get past someone at the door: a young man who claimed no one lived there named Isaiah. While this young man was not given a name, the end credits revealed he is Eli Bradley (Elijah Richardson).
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The scene showed Bucky revealing to Sam that there were more super-soldiers than just him and Steve Rogers. In this case, Isaiah Bradley was a man Bucky knew from years before when he was still operating as the Winter Soldier and working for Hydra. The United States tried to send several people to take down the Winter Soldier, and none came back home. However, when they sent Isaiah Bradley, he was able to push Bucky to the limit and even took part of his prosthetic arm. Isaiah wanted nothing to do with the two after seeing Bucky, and he kicked them out, escorted to the door by the unnamed young man.
This young man is Isaiah’s grandson, Eli Bradley, and in Marvel Comics, he takes on the mantle of Patriot, becoming one of the founding members of the Young Avengers. Eli had no superpowers, but he wanted to become a hero so badly that he took a drug created to give mutants powers after M-Day. He began to abuse the MGH (Mutant Growth Hormone). He would often help the Young Avengers break up drug rings, but he would steal and keep the MGH, as he even hid from his teammates that he didn’t really have powers. They all believed that Eli had the powers through genetics from his grandfather, Isaiah. He eventually quit the team when he realized the effects the MGH was having on him.
That all changed in Young Avengers #10 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. The Young Avengers convinced him to rejoin them to save Hulkling when the Super Skrull kidnapped him. This was at the start of the entire battle for Hulkling between the Kree and Skrull. Soon, the Avengers showed up, and when Captain America told them that Hulkling was under the Avenger’s protection, a Kree soldier fired at him. Eli leaped in front and took the shot meant for Cap. After the battle, Cap raced to the hospital to find that Isaiah showed up and donated his blood, laced with the super-soldier serum, to save his grandson’s life.
Eli Bradley is just one of the Young Avengers that the MCU has either introduced or has plans to introduce. Cassie Lang, Ant-Man’s daughter who becomes Stature, has been around since the first Ant-Man movie and will return in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kate Bishop makes her debut in Hawkeye when it arrives on Disney+ later in 2021. Both Wiccan and Speed appeared in WandaVision as children, and the Disney+ series ended with Wanda trying to bring them back. America Chavez will debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Loki has been around almost since the start, although he is a child in the Young Avengers. That only leaves Hulkling, Iron Lad and Prodigy as members of the team’s different iterations yet to debut. While no Young Avengers movie or series has been announced, Marvel has set the stage for the possibility.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. A new episode debuts each Friday on Disney+.
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